Happy Monday 🌞
I’ve always been someone who has loved personality tests. I see them as a tool — not to box myself in, but to better understand how I show up in the world, and design systems that support that.
If you joined recently, hi 👋 I’m Hailley. I’ve always created systems for my work (as a Marketing leader at Buffer) and life (as a remote worker and mom of two) where I can stay productive, calm, and organized.
This week, we’re talking about something I’m passionate about: the deep connection between knowing yourself and building systems that actually work for you.
Who you are, your goals, and your life circumstances all evolve and shift over time — meaning the systems in your life should do the same. Some of the bigger shifts happen around major life milestones: moving away from home, starting a new job, living with a partner, having children, or going from individual contributor to manager. During all of these seasons, the systems that serve you will most likely evolve.
Here are three factors to consider when designing systems that work for you right now:
1️⃣ Your personality and strengths - What motivates you? What are your natural working styles? Knowing something like your Enneagram type (my absolute favorite personality test) along with your overall strengths and weaknesses is a really solid starting point.
2️⃣ Your current goals - What are you actively working toward? Try to keep it to just a few key goals so you can really tailor your systems to support them.
3️⃣ Your life season - How would you describe your current energy and bandwidth? Is your life feeling full, focused, chaotic, or calm right now? Your season describes your available time, energy, and emotional capacity — and your systems should reflect that.
Take a moment to reflect on these questions:
- How would I describe my current season when I think of my energy levels and free time? (Full, slow, light, overwhelming, etc.)
- What are the 2-3 main goals I’m working towards right now?
- What are some key aspects of my personality, strengths, and weaknesses I should keep in mind when designing systems?
You can then use this information to design thoughtful systems that play to your goals and your strengths while keeping your current season in mind.
Here’s how this plays out in my own life:
Personality-based system: I’m an Enneagram 3 and highly motivated by accomplishments and visible progress. Regardless of how others organize work, I always organize my projects in a Notion database where I can see progress because I know that moving toward completion will continue to motivate me. I have that database automatically appear in my daily planning and weekly reviews so I’m regularly in touch with all the projects I’m working on and their current status.
Season-based system: I’m in a fuller season of life right now with an upcoming move and lots of projects at work. One area where I feel crunched is dinners. Instead of making something new every night — something I really enjoy since I love cooking — I don’t have the bandwidth right now. So I’m doing as much meal prep on Sundays as possible and keeping meals simple and repeatable throughout the week. (I’ll go back to prepping different foods when I’m in a lighter season.)
Doing this type of reflection is useful whenever a season is shifting in your life. From there, it’s about designing systems that help you truly achieve your goals while reflecting your current season and staying true to who you are.
I hope you have a lovely week ahead. As always, feel free to reply if this sparks any thoughts or questions. ✨
See you next Monday,
Hailley
P.S. If you’ve made it this far, hit reply and tell me what’s one topic or question you’d like me to write about? Feel free to reply with just a word or phrase. I’m working on a new project and would love to hear from you.
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